Image registration is a crucial step in most image processing tasks for which the
final result is achieved from a combination of various resources. In general, the majority of
registration methods consist of the following four steps: feature extraction, feature
matching, transform modeling, and finally image resampling. As the accuracy of a
registration process is highly dependent to the feature extraction and matching methods, in
this paper, we have proposed a new method for extracting salient edges from satellite
images. Due to the efficiency of multiresolution data representation, we have considered
four state-of-the-art multiresolution transforms –namely, wavelet, curvelet, complex
wavelet and contourlet transform- in the feature extraction step of the proposed image
registration method. Experimental results and performance comparison among these
transformations showed the high performance of the contourlet transform in extracting
efficient edges from satellite images. Obtaining salient, stable and distinguishable features
increased the accuracy of the proposed registration process.